Sun Chien
Human Lanterns
Part horror, part kung-fu, 100% outrageous, Human Lanterns has a special place in the Cult Film Hall of Fame. Some of the biggest stars in Hong Kong martial arts movies enter the twilight zone in this over-the-top bloodfest, with Lo Lieh as an insane swordsman who comes up with a unique way to avenge past humiliations. He opens a lantern workshop with the lampshades made from the beautiful hides of his enemies’ sisters, courtesans, and wives. Liu Yung steps down from the Emperor roles that made him famous to play a deliciously evil bad guy, and Chen Kuan-Tai matches him in pride and power-lust. Lust of another kind is supplied by Tanny Tien Ni and Linda Chu, two ladies whose beautiful skin proves to be a most unwelcome asset. A rare entry in the horror-kung-fu genre, and one of Hong Kong’s most distinctive action films.
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House of Traps
It all started with The Five Venoms, the internationally loved kung-fu thriller which introduced director Chang Cheh’s recurring cast of martial arts masters. It continued through more than a dozen high-flying, bloody good entertainment movies featuring the same action actors in pairs, trios, quartets, and, most memorably, quintets. While this is considered the last official “Venoms” movie, what a film it is. The title does not lie: an evil prince has secreted stolen imperial treasures in a building that practically bristles with booby-trapped blades. Bodies are pierced, limbs are cut off, and there’s one plasma-spurting attack after another as heroes and rogues alike try to solve the secrets of the hell house. The core Venoms themselves choreograph the gory fun in this fond farewell to their worldwide film series sensation.
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The Duel of the Century
For more than twenty-five years, Chu Yuan was famous as one of Hong Kong’s most respected directors of “Martial-art World” epics – often conceived by his remarkable collaborator, novelist Ku Lung. This was one of their last productions together for the Shaw Brothers Studio, but it’s another revenge and mystery-tinged winner. Liu Yung and Sun Chien team up to investigate the martial-art murders of a supposedly mortally wounded swordsman, only to find deception, double-dealings, imposters, and one deadly duel after another. No less than three choreographers are on hand to handle the multitude of martial arts, making this one of Chu Yuan’s most involving and exciting efforts ever.
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The Emperor and His Brother
Perennial Shaw Brothers hero Ti Lung versus perennial Shaw Brothers villain Lo Lieh. This combination is always enough to make one buckle up for a rousing ride of stylized fun. Based on a story about the famous anti-Ching Hung Hua Society, Chen Chia-Lo (Ti Lung) must endure music attacks, great acts of betrayal and loyalty, memorable twists and controlled confusion to capture the Ching Emperor, Chien Lung, who turns out to be his brother. Chang Chao-Chung (Lo Lieh) wants Chien Lung back. Besides ultra-extravagant sets, The Emperor and His Brother uses cool special effects to embellish Chen's secret "peacock fist" technique. Of particular note, the final action sequence features Jackie Chan's kung-fu buddies, Yuan Te and Yuan Pin.
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Two Champions of Shaolin
A team that ranks high in the pantheon of cult Kung fu flicks is a quintet of martial artists who burst upon the screen in The Five Venoms, followed by Crippled Avengers and other cult classics. The "five venoms" are reunited in Two Champions of Shaolin, with four of the fab five wreaking havoc on screen and the fifth venom active behind the camera as action choreographer. It's a battle between two Ching Dynasty clans, Shaolin and Wu Tang. The Shaolin champions are anti-Manchu and, naturally, represent the forces of good as they use their considerable force to crush the devious Wu Tang clan. The man behind the mayhem, director Chang Cheh, virtually invented the Shaolin genre of Kung fu movies and shows he has more than a few new tricks up his sleeve when unleashing his venomous heroes.
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The Kid With The Golden Arm
When directors in the late '70s began jumping on the kung-fu comedy bandwagon renowned director Chang Cheh stuck to his guns of traditional brotherhood and moral code films made popular by him in the '60s. So in keeping with the spirit of the venomous success of the cultish The Five Venoms, Chang reunites the "Five Venoms" in arguably his second biggest cult hit in the West, "The Kid With The Golden Arm". As the film's lead martial arts instructor and one of the stars, it's also one of Lo Meng's finest moments on screen playing the righteous villain Golden Arms whose eventual showdown with the drunkard Hai Tao (Kuo Chue, fight choreographer for "Brotherhood Of The Wolf") is graphically artsy and balletically violent. You won’t be disappointed.
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Shaolin Rescuers
The "Venoms" are back in action in this thriller of Shaolin versus corrupt Ching soldiers, with the help of the Lama, Black Tiger and Mantis clans, headquartered at a pugilism school, a dyeing mill, and a beancurd shop. The five men that were made famous - by director Chang Cheh, in more than a dozen similar high-flying, blood-splattered adventures (starting with The Five Venoms) - are all here. There’s the Taiwanese opera artist Kuo Chue, his fellow light-skill acrobat Chiang Sheng, the evil Lu Feng, the Chinese muscleman Lo Mang, and Korean kicker Sun Chien, whose skills are specially spotlighted in this production. Together they create another wonderfully fun kung-fu showcase, filled with show-stopping sequences of martial arts expertise.
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Crippled Avengers
The “godfather of the kung-fu film”, Chang Cheh, hit upon a winning formula when he combined three Taiwanese Opera artists with a muscular Chinese and a Korean kicker. Their first “official” film as stars, "The Five Venoms" was a hit, so the director/co-writer decided to launch a series with the same actors in different roles. Supporting this beloved sequel was real-life kung-fu champion Chen Kuan-tai, who Chang Cheh had already made a star. He plays a martial arts master (driven insane by his wife’s death and his son’s dismemberment), who replaces his child’s missing hands with metal versions, then proceeds to blind, deafen, render retarded, and chop off the feet of anyone who even mildly annoys him. The abused bystanders band together and brilliantly train to take their revenge. The result is a totally unbelievable, but totally awesome, super heroic delight.
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The Five Venoms
The most prolific kung-fu director in Hong Kong martial arts cinema, Chang Cheh, ushered in a new phase of his career and a new generation of action stars with The Five Venoms. The setting is ancient China’s School of Five Venoms, so named for its five types of kung-fu based on five venomous animals: centipede, scorpion, serpent, toad, and lizard. The school is notorious for the evil deeds of its disciples, leading to another classic battle between righteousness and depravity. This international hit, lauded in Ric Meyers' premiere, groundbreaking book martial arts movies as one of the greatest, spawned a series featuring the same actors in new roles which was also enjoyed from America to Asia.
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